This scene is full of activity. Two gangs of men and a horse pull a festival car (not shown) past the entrance to Miya Temple for a holiday. The name Miya literally means “shrine.” The temple compound at this station houses the Atsuta Shrine, the most important shrine in the country because it holds one of the three divine symbols of the Japanese imperial throne. Of special note is Hiroshige’s rendering of the smoke rising from the two campfires in the background, which demonstrates his high level of skill in the woodblock technique.
Miya, now Nagoya City, has grown around the shrine to become the third largest metropolis in Japan.
